These are stories of my travels around the world, saying good bye to London, cancer, eating junk food, day dreaming and becoming the warrior and adventurer I always wanted to be.

April 15, 2010

Clean bill of health

Dentist: No cavities. Clean bill of health.Ophthalmologist: Left eye is far-sighted and has astigmatism. Right eye normal. Left eye has a benign growth called pterygium. Wikipedia, ever so helpful, says: "Pterygium most often refers to a benign growth of the conjunctiva. A pterygium commonly grows from the nasal side of the sclera. It is associated with, and thought to be caused by ultraviolet-light exposure (e.g. sunlight), low humidity, and dust." So it is not melanoma or diabetic retinopathy. It's not actually painful at all, I barely notice it, but it is there all right and made me wonder what alien growth I got in my eye. Treatment for the pterygium seems more complicated; Wikipedia talks about conjunctival auto-grafting, strontium therapy, mitomycin and amniotic membrane transplantation. If anyone has any information about the treatment and/or can send me link to relevant website, I'd be most grateful.Pterygium- a benign growth, but it is still somehow disturbing. The doc said it has "not invaded the optic area yet".. Not yet. What happens when it does?